TOWAMENCIN: The referendum in 2024 gave the residents of the North Penn school district a choice whether or not they wanted to give the high school an extended renovation, with the extended renovation resulting in slightly higher taxes. Due to the failure of said referendum, the building will receive significantly less renovations than planned, with the freshman center being left out of the finalized plan.
Whether somebody wanted an additional 9th grade center in the building or not, there was a collective agreement in the community that the high school needed a thorough renovation. Piping and electrical systems were getting old and unreliable; certain parts of the building weren’t exactly ‘up to date’; and comfort options, such as temperature control, were simply not present. With just a few months left until North Penn begins its transition into a new version of itself, these are the general expectations that are to come with the renovation from every department:
Science
Mainly centered in C-Pod, one of the oldest areas of the high school, the science department expects some changes coming next year, with the rooms being updated with new plumbing and electrical.
“The primary change is going to be the number [classrooms], because the teachers that all teach in K-Pod, which are all chemistry teachers, obviously have to move out of K-Pod while they do their renovation. So we’re going to be incorporating them into the other science classrooms, and there are going to be some temporary classroom locations,” Science department chair Mark Keagy stated
In addition to the classroom changes, there will be an additional science classroom in the right interior of the third floor K-Pod. The exact classroom that will be changed is currently unknown. In conclusion, the science department doesn’t anticipate any significantly altering changes for next year.
Mathematics
Movement will pose a significant difference for the math department, with several teachers being put into temporary classrooms for either the whole 2025-2026 academic year, or a significant part of it.
“We have several teachers who will move in the temporary rooms for part of the year, possibly the whole year and some of them will start in the temporary room at the beginning of the year and some will start partly through the year,” Mathematics department chair Christopher Cummiskey explained.
Currently, it is unknown which teachers will be moved to temporary classrooms. In addition to the temporary classrooms being set up, the mathematics department will be moved to K-Pod as a result of the renovation.
“We’ve been told we’re being moved to K-Pod, so we’ll have some rooms on the first floor and second floor and one room on the third floor. All math rooms will be in K-Pod is what I’ve been thinking,” Cummiskey stated.
Health and Physical Education
The Health and Physical education department is home to the Rick Carroll Natatorium, an impressive swimming pool that is also the newest addition to North Penn, being constructed in 2005/2006.
“The Rick Carroll Natatorium is going to be the first to be renovated. It is the newest structure, but I guess they said with the permitting, it’s the one that’s going to be renovated first. We are going to be out as of May 16th. We were able to expedite our curriculum and get the things that we do in order for the kids to have a quality program that we run,” Health and Physical Education department chair David Franek explained.
The pool will reopen next academic year, in either November or December, although the exact dates are currently unknown. To accommodate for the loss of the pool for the first few months of the 2025-2026 academic year, the department is planning to do a similar program to virtual learning, creating course-specific Edpuzzles.
“We’re going to be able to get outside and kind of have more of a P.E aspect, more movement, not in the water, but with the concepts of aquatics and I don’t think we’re going to miss too many classes. The lifeguarding is going to be a little trickier, but I think it will work well. In lifeguarding, we start in the pool and then we have some lab work, we’re in the classroom, then we go back in the pool. So we’re basically going to do all the dry land stuff first,” Franek stated
Social Studies:
Classroom changes are going to play a major role in the Social Studies department with next year’s renovation.
“Next year it’s just a matter of seeing what happens, really. I know some of the other departments might be affected more sooner, so for next year it’s just waiting to hear when and where they will be moved to. I think for social studies, we will end up in what will be the new A-Pod area,” Social Studies department co-chair Ryan Gutsche explained.
A significant number of social studies teachers are in K-Pod, and the renovation will make them move to different classrooms until a final resolution is reached. Currently, there is a lot of uncertainty on the matter.
“I don’t believe social studies will have to go to any of the temporary auditorium or audion classrooms, I think they might be put into a different part of the building, but again, I’m not 100% sure,” Gutsche stated
Additional equipment, such as new whiteboards, bulletin boards among others will be added to new social studies classrooms. But, even with the new additions, there are some challenges that are present.
“A major one [struggle] and most basically is we will actually be losing a classroom. So right now, I think we have 25 or 26 different members using 23 classrooms, but after the renovation we will have 21 or 22, and in theory the same number of teachers,” Social Studies department co-chair Brendon Mostert stated.
World Language
The World Language department will face significant change as a result of the renovation, even though B-Pod, the home of the department, is going to be one of the later renovations. B-Pod might not be touched for two to three years, but changes will be significant.
“I don’t know how this is going to affect us in the next year, we actually had to move our planning center. We had this big planning center for years and years, and we had to leave it last year, so we had to downsize already,” World Language department chair Brittany Atkiss explained.
There is a lot of uncertainty regarding the beginning of the renovation for the World Language department, but one thing is a possibility, B-Pod will no longer be their home. The new classrooms are said to be great, with features such as new lighting and temperature control.
“I have not heard when we’re going to be leaving the pod into our temporary locations, but I have heard that we are moving E-Pod, languages will now be in E-Pod, ” Atkiss stated.
Even though the exact dates of when B-Pod will begin its renovation are unknown, temporary classrooms will be established to accommodate teachers and students.
“They have warned us we might be teaching, say in the auditorium with four different classes, or in the gym and the gym being split into different learning stations,” Atkiss stated.
Reading
A department some students may be unfamiliar with, the reading department offers classes focusing on comprehension and phonetic word skills, following the same standards as the English department, giving students that need the necessary help to achieve the desired reading level.
The department isn’t expecting any significant changes as a result of the renovation besides new equipment and the movement of classes.
“For next year, we don’t have a lot in the long term to what you’re looking at. Our rooms will be moved. There’s three rooms in [A-Pod], there’s two rooms over in E-Pod and the rooms will be closer to each other according to plan,” Reading department chair Cheryl Neubert explained.
New bookshelves will be installed to hold books that are used during class, offering students a more comfortable reading experience. In addition, the department will be offered ‘flexible seating’, which will give students more comfortable locations to sit and read during class.
“We’ll have ‘flexible seating’, so when we teach, we have a small group, we have rocking chairs and comfortable places because if you’re going to read for enjoyment, you don’t need these kinds of chairs. So we have incorporated our own things, but we’ll be able to have flexible seating for students to read independently, flexible seating for a small group is super exciting,” Neubert stated.
Guidance
The guidance department doesn’t foresee any systemic changes. Currently, the guidance department has three home offices, one future planning center and two transition counselors to and from Northbridge, with one home office being in K-Pod, the center of the renovation next year.
“I don’t see anything changing systemically because of the renovations, I foresee and I’ve been told in meetings that we will stay within our home offices. There will be different locations, but there will be different locations, but there will be three counselors per home office and three home offices,” guidance department chair Patrick Brett stated.
Currently, there is a lot of uncertainty going on regarding the home offices in K-Pod, the temporary location is, as of now, undetermined. The current dates for the renovation are unknown, but first floor K-Pod will likely be renovated starting spring break of the 2025-2026 academic year. Similarly to other departments, the renovation will bring new equipment and HVAC regulation systems.
Engineering & Technology
The Engineering & Technology department is in an interesting position, since the majority of the classrooms are located in H-Pod, an area that will not see any immediate change starting next year, but this doesn’t free it from future renovations.
“We are towards the end of the renovations, and that is good, because we’re gonna see what has been happening and might hopefully be able to benefit from the fact that we’re seeing other groups deal with what gets packed up, what gets moved. We’ve already dealt with a change to our department when we renovated one of our rooms, just one single room, and it was a monumental task,” Engineering & Technology department chair Dr. Michael Voicheck stated.
The technology & engineering department is planning to merge together into H-Pod, instead of some classes being in E-Pod and some being in H-Pod. H-Pod will be one of the last areas of the high school to be renovated, with renovations likely going to be between 2029-2030, but it will be one of the most difficult areas to renovate. This is mainly due to the large amount of engineering and class-specific equipment that is located there.
“Specifically, I asked them [renovation planners] where are my machines going? They showed me a picture of an empty space, and I said where are all of the tools and equipment going? Where’s my giant laser cutter going, where’s my little mill, where’s my big mill?,” Dr Voicheck stated.
Not much information is currently known about the renovation, primarily because the changes affecting H-Pod are much farther into the future than compared to other areas of the high school, but that is subject to change in the future.
“We are hoping that we are finally able to put our entire department together. In roughly 1999, the technology courses were evolved into adding engineering courses, and then over the past 8-10 years we have essentially evolved into including computer science classes, and then the computer science classes, technology classes and engineering classes are essentially one department. And if we can have all of our teachers in the same area, that would be beneficial, because otherwise we’re just dealing with our computer science teachers, Mr. Daubert, Mr Kolb, who bounce back and forth between our program here, ” Dr Voicheck explained.
English Language Development
The English Language Development department, one of the most important departments at North Penn, offering great assistance to students with limited English proficiency; isn’t expecting much changes to be made next year.
“Next year we shouldn’t have many changes. But then in the coming years, we will, I believe, relocate over to E-Pod, so that’s basically it,” English Language Development department chair Lauren Michener stated.
Currently, the department only has five teachers and three classrooms, so the renovation won’t be as difficult as some of the other departments, but difficulties are still not exempted.
“I believe we will be relocated to temporary classrooms until we go to our permanent classrooms, but we will be teaching, I believe, when the construction is going on when they’re building the addition connecting A-Pod and H-Pod,” Michener Stated.
English
The English department isn’t expecting much changes with the renovation next year. The finalized changes plan to finally combine the department together and move the teachers out of A-Pod.
“I know people are nervous about temporary spaces and not having a “home base” classroom. I am also concerned about all of our texts…making sure they make it from one part of the building to the next. Our novels are precious!” English department chair, Elizabeth Weizer stated.
The renovation will pose some challenges, such as classroom relocation and not being able to have the things that they ‘need’ to use on hand. But in general, the upcoming changes will benefit the department greatly, and enhance the learning experience of students.
“I think a bright, new, beautiful building that’s functional will help everyone feel good about NPHS and be ready to learn! And being able to open our classroom windows will be glorious,” Weizer exclaimed.
Special Education
The Special Education department has plans for change for the renovation. The three K-Pod classrooms will be changed, which will be their biggest change.
“We’ve had all of our meetings with Mr. Nicholson, so I think our K-Pod plan is pretty set and ready to go. Our biggest impact will be on the first floor K-Pod, where we’re really changing three classrooms. So that will be the biggest impact for our department,” Special Education department chair Amy Young stated.
Teachers are already preparing for the renovation and the classroom move, packing up personal items to take to the next classroom and getting ready for the move. The biggest change will be in first floor K-Pod classrooms.
“The biggest impact for me would be our first floor, we have a vocational program for some of our kids, that’s going to be renovated and two classrooms are gonna be our post-12 rooms, are going to be renovated to look more like certain types of setups, and they’re pretty much all finalized. At this point we’ve picked out our furniture, we picked what we want the floor to be like, because that’s gotta be a little different, ” Young stated.
The renovation will bring many benefits to the department such as updating classrooms, specific programming for the kids and new equipment.
“For instance, for post-12 students that need additional skills after they graduate. So some of that includes things like apartment living and independent living skills, things along those lines. So we are building and renovating a couple of rooms to mock what real life would be,” Young stated.
Business
As a result of the renovation, the business department will undergo relocation to downstairs E-Pod and losing certain rooms. Downsizing and relocation will be the largest problems for the department as of now.
“We’re gonna be losing our rooms up here, and we’re gonna be moving downstairs. We’re going to get, I think three rooms on one side and then one by the cafeteria as of now, that’s the plan/ We’re gonna be loosing our labs, right now we’re in talks of trying and get at least one computer lab because we have some computer classes that won’t hold up on a chromebook,” business department chair Christine Peterson stated.
Losing classrooms and necessary equipment for them will be a significant issue for the department starting next year. If the computer labs will be removed, then there would need to be curriculum changes to adjust to the new environment.
“The rooms we’re moving to aren’t big enough to have a set up [computer lab] kind of how we were set up here with the computers around the perimeter and then the desks in the middle. So it’s either a lab or a classroom, because they’re just not big enough,” Peterson stated.
Currently, there is still a lot of uncertainty going on regarding the renovation. The exact dates of when it is going to be finished are unknown.
“Moving all of our stuff out of here would be the biggest thing, but like I said, I think we’re the last phase, so we’re not really on the forefront right now,” Peterson explained.
Family Consumer Science
The FCS (Family Consumer Science) department is planning to make changes that will ‘bring’ the department into the 21st century, and greatly enhance the learning experience of students taking classes within the department.
“The changes would be to bring it into the 21st century. We’re looking to open up the space, have some room for storage, but make our department very updated, more technologically sound,” FCS department chair Joelle Townsend stated.
The current timeline for changes is unknown and keeps changing. The Child Development area, located in the first floor K-Pod will be moved over to the E-Pod area during spring and summer, with potentially temporary classrooms being installed. Since the classes often have preschool aged kids part of it, the drop-off location for parents will be moved to their own drop-off area instead of them having to ‘fight the buses’.
“I, for safety reasons, think that’s a great idea to have that back there. They’re gonna have their own lot so the kids can go outside and play in the area, so that’s going to be much more updated,” Townsend explained.
The department will conduct consistent adjustments according to the renovation. Since there is currently a lot of uncertainty regarding the dates, the exact timeline is currently unknown.
“We’re gonna modify and adjust consistently. Of it right now, we’re in the planning stages of trying to figure out what we need to move, how we’re going to move it, making time to move all of that staff,” Townsend stated.
Art
The art department is divided into two sections, resulting in two different timelines for the renovation. The main pod, J-Pod, the core of the department and K-Pod will be affected by the renovation, with K-Pod being renovated first.
“K-Pod is gonna be the first thing renovated in the building, that’s the part of the department that’s going to be impacted in the near future. And so for us here, we’re planning on relocating at the end of the school year next year, so one of the things is just kind of planning on getting materials ready to move and getting rid of any stuff that we don’t necessarily need anymore,” Art department chair Michael Werner stated.
The temporary space will pose challenges for art classes taught there, potentially requiring downsizing and curriculum changes for the time being in the temporary classrooms. J-Pod won’t be immediately impacted next year, with planned renovations taking place in a couple of years, but when renovation does happen in that area, moving supplies and changing classrooms would be a significant challenge.
“Those classrooms [J-Pod] need to move, but there are so many more supplies there. You can imagine the amount of supplies for a ceramics classroom, for a painting classroom, for an illustration classroom. I mean, there are so many supplies down there, and one, we have to go through and clean out some of the things we don’t use anymore,” Werner explained.
Currently, J-Pod is in the process of cleaning out certain supplies that are no longer needed or used. When a clearer timeline becomes available for the J-Pod renovation, then more significant changes will be made, which will be in around 5-7 years.
“During the transition period, the curriculum may need to be adjusted a little bit, we want to try to keep up all of our core content and knowledge and all of that stuff that we’re trying to provide for our students, we’re trying to keep that intact, but we may need to change the order depending on where our location is and what materials are available and what resources are available,” Werner stated.
In conclusion, the renovation will bring much anticipated change for the high school in different phases. As of right now, the priority is K-Pod and the Pool area, renovations of which will affect the departments centred around those areas most. Due to the fact that there is currently much uncertainty going on about the exact timeline and dates of each department’s renovation, changes to the aforementioned information may happen. Be sure to keep an eye out for future Knight Crier updates regarding the renovation!
